By Gary Lloyd
MOUNTAIN BROOK — Hewitt-Trussville lost nine seniors off last year’s varsity boys basketball team.
The Huskies’ leading returning scorer is sophomore Harrison Stanley, who averaged 7.8 points in eight games after being called up from the freshman team. He was called up because former guard Jarvis Calhoun was out with an injury, as was junior Carter Pharis, who won’t play basketball this season.
“He’s the most experience player we have,” second-year Hewitt-Trussville head coach Mike Dutton said of Stanley.
Dutton called last season’s injuries to Calhoun and Pharis “catastrophic” for the team. A team that started the season 12-2 limped to a 16-12 record.
There are zero returning starters for this year’s team: Calhoun and Pharis were starters, as were seniors Tony Hampton, Will McCullough and James Huguley.
“We had a wonderful group of seniors, nine seniors who were so coachable and really rallied through all of our adversity,” Dutton said. “Our guys could have totally thrown in the towel last season, but they didn’t. They kept battling and scrapping. That really inspired me.”
This year’s roster includes four seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. The starting lineup could feature two juniors, one senior, one junior and one freshman.
“To say that we’re young is an understatement,” Dutton said.
Cole Mason, one of the four seniors who accompanied Dutton and senior center Brian Duffett to Birmingham High School Basketball Media Day, said the team hopefully learned leadership qualities from last season’s seniors. He said this year’s team has a lot of good shooters who can knock down clutch shots.
“I’m sure that’s going to help us,” Mason said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.